Retaining hardware of various types have been in use for some time. One type of conventional retainer is a bonding tie or strip. Such devices must be manually secured about the object which is being retained. Such manual securing procedures are time consuming and labor intensive. Therefore, various types of "snap-on" retainers have been developed as an alternative to such manually secured bonding ties. However, conventional snap-on retainers possess certain disadvantages. For instance, conventional snap retainers often times lack versatility. In other words, the number of different surface profiles to which the retainers can be attached is somewhat limited. Moreover, the shape and dimensions of some conventional retainers prohibit attachment in compact or cramped spaces.
Certain conventional snap-on retainers lack the durability and strength to secure objects without becoming inadvertently disengaged when placed in certain environments.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,706 to Stokes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,987 to Schmid, U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,027 to Weber, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,766 also to Weber each disclose a clip or snap-fit holder formed from a plastic material. Such snap-fit holders often lack the strength and durability required over time to meet the requisite performance requirements in certain applications.
Other snap-fit retainers which are formed from metallic materials possess other disadvantages. Even these conventional metal snap-fit retainers often lack the strength required to meet the performance requirements in certain environments or applications. Such conventional metallic snap-on retainers can be inadvertently disengaged from the anchoring surfaces to which they are attached. Also, conventional metallic retainers are often formed from a flat strip of metal with squared edges which can chafe or abrade the surface of objects being retained.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,058,733 to Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 2,065,843 to Van Uum, U.S. Pat. No. 2,366,456 to Pheazey, U.S. Pat. No. 2,563,240 to Heath and U.S. Pat. No. 2,981,513 to Brown each disclose metallic retaining clips or fasteners made from a flat strip of material having sharp squared edges which can abrade the object being retained. Such abrasion is especially undesirable when the retainers are being used to hold electrical wiring.
U.S. Pat. No. 618,410 to Goldsmith discloses a display card having fastening devices anchored thereto. The fastening devices are formed from a metallic material and are secured to the display card by legs 7 which are bent in opposite directions at right angles. This construction can lack the strength to remain secured or anchored into the surface of the object to which it is attached in certain environments or applications.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a low cost retaining device which can be "snapped on" or otherwise easily mounted to the surface to which it is anchored. It also be desirable to provide a retainer having the shape and dimensions which would enable it to be fitted into very small volumes, and which could be easily mounted to a number of different surface profiles. It would also be desirable to provide such retainers with high strength and resistance to inadvertent disengagement from its secured position during use. Finally, it would be desirable to provide such retainers with a construction which would avoid chaffing or abrading the object being retained.